Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the secure communication of a shared cryptographic key, and particularly, to the communication of the shared cryptographic key between devices not connected by a secure channel.
Description of the Related Art
Generally, devices may utilize shared cryptographic keys to securely communicate with one another. For example, a first device may utilize the shared key to sign (e.g., encode) data and transmit the signed data to a second device. The second device may then utilize the shared key to verify (e.g., decode) the received data. In this manner, an outside party that intercepts the encoded data would not be able to decode the data without the shared key. Thus, securing communication with the use of a shared key is premised on the communicating devices each knowing the shared key.
In other words, the shared key may be securely communicated to each of the devices before using the shared key to encode and decode data. Often methods for securely communicating the shared key may utilize extensive mathematical calculations. For example, utilizing a Diffie-Hellman approach to communicate a shared key between devices may involve the devices performing modular arithmetic, which may require non-trivial computational processing. However, some devices, such as a memory device, may have limited processing power.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to improve secure communication of a shared key, for example, by enabling communication of the shared key even with devices having limited processing power.